Kodi 14.0 Helix – Release candidate arrives

The last few months have certainly been rough-and-tumble, but we are pleased to announce the release candidate cycle for Kodi 14.0 Helix.

This 14.0 release brings many updates and changes, not the least of which is the change to the software’s name and logo. The release candidate cycle will also be the first to include the official logo of Kodi! The ins and outs about the logo can be read here in case you are interested.

A detailed changelog can be found under milestones on our code repository, should you be interested. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the features that come with the 14.0 release candidate.

The Next Generation of Video Codecs

To begin, Kodi has been updated to use FFmpeg 2.4.3 For users, this means Kodi will now be capable of playing back h.265 (also known as HEVC) and VP9 video codecs. This could result in dramatically smaller video files sizes with exactly the same level of quality. A 40 GB file could be compressed to 20 GB. A 1 GB file could be compressed to 500 MB without any loss in perceivable quality. Users with particularly large libraries or interest in 4K video may be especially likely to appreciate this update. Software support for the VP9 video codec is also included.

The caveat to this update is that the decoding of h.265 is entirely software based. This means most low power systems, such as those operating Android or iOS, may struggle compared to the heftier HTPCs or Intel NUCs and ZOTAC ZBOXes that are running desktop and laptop processors.

Library Improvements

The Kodi Library is getting improvements both coming in and going out. On the input side, library scanning is receiving a massive speed boost, which should make the initial scan on Android and iOS devices quite a bit more spiritedly.

On the output side, work continues, slowly but surely, on UPnP. Kodi is now significantly more compatible with servers like PlayOn and MediaBrowser, as client-related bugs have been dealt with. Further, communication between Kodi UPnP clients and Kodi UPnP servers continues to improve with proper or additional support for categories like date added, ratings, votes, and artwork, along with sorting for those new categories. UPnP search functions are also slowly working their way into Kodi.

More User Control Over Kodi

Two new features have been introduced with Kodi that should give users even more control over how the software works. First, users can now prevent add-ons from updating without a forced update, prevent add-on update notifications, or simply continue to work with add-ons auto-updating as they do today. To change add-on update settings, visit the Add-ons folder in System Settings, if you are using Confluence, click left with your keyboard or remote to open the side panel, where a number of options exist, including the option to hide any add-ons that aren’t expected to work in your region.

Second, in the past the virtual keyboard on the screen that users of tablets and remote controls are forced to deal with has always been set to the western standard QWERTY style. It is now possible to change the layout to a variety of other language options. To do so, visit the International section of the Appearance folder in System Settings and select Keyboard layouts. (Pro-tip: If you are an English speaker living in the US, Australia, or New Zealand, you can also select a version of English that better suits your spelling style from the Language portion of the International section.)

Android, iOS, and embedded

On the Android side, hardware playback improvements continue, including more and better support for various chipsets, improved fast forward and rewind capability, as well as 4K support for the AMLogic s802 chipset. On the iOS side, Airplay, which was fairly substantially broken by the update to iOS 7, appears to be almost entirely fixed on every platform save Android, which lacks certain software support, making Airplay playback only partially fixed on that platform. Additionally, support for the Freescale i.MX6 SystemOnChip has been added.

Furthermore, for you tablet users we’ve now replaced the ageing Touched skin with the improved Re-Touched skin, which includes a number of tweaks to bring it more in line with the features Kodi has to offer.

Windows, OSX, and Linux

All three platforms continue to see improvements in audio playback and a reduction of many audio-related bugs that have been plaguing the platforms for a long time. Windows also sees improvement in DXVA video playback.

PVR

American PVR users will be happy to learn that Kodi 14 introduces support for ATSC sub-channels. All users of PVR may be happy to learn that all PVR windows have been rebuilt to be better and more efficient.

A Few Warnings and Notices

This release marks the switch to the new name Kodi. When you install this release candidate, your library and add-ons will be moved to Kodi, making reverting back to 13.2 fairly difficult. As such, it is recommended that you back up your libraryas well as your settings before installing Kodi.

Also, as Kodi is an unsigned application on OSX, you may need to go through a slightly different process to start it the first time. After you have copied Kodi to the Applications folder, you will need to “right click” or “two finger click” Kodi from within the Applications folder and select “Open” and then accept the warning. You should only need to do this the first time you run Kodi.

Download

To download, please visit our download page. Over the next few days/weeks, we anticipate putting out additional release candidates fairly rapidly. As we don’t expect very many changes to features and fairly limited fixes, we will likely not put out blog posts for every release candidate. Instead, keep and eye on our social networks for updates, and Kodi itself will keep you updated when a new release candidate is ready. If fairly significant changes occur, we will write a blog post on the topic.

The first ever Kodi T-Shirt

Because of your generosity in t-shirt sales, straight-up donations, and word-of-mouth evangelizing, this project has lasted for 12 years and through four different names, and with your help, we all believe it can last twice that long again. This is the very first t-shirt sale we’re doing with the new Kodi logo design. We’re mostly doing this sale because our developers wanted a cool new shirt, but we figured we probably weren’t the only ones. So if you’d like the very first official Kodi shirt, have at it. Just follow the link to get it.

How to Contribute

If you use these builds, we encourage you to report problems with these builds on our forum first and after if asked submit bugs on Trac (following this guide: How to submit a bug report). Do note that we need detailed information so we can investigate the issue. We also appreciate providing support in our Forums where you can, or donate to the XBMC Foundation if you like. For a current FAQ on Kodi 14, visit our Helix FAQ. You can of course also follow or help promote Kodi on all available social networks.

Discussion - 103 Comments

Fantastic work everyone and thank you for the greatest media playback entertainment centre out there…I have tried a lot but nothing beat Kodi and probably never will ,And free plus better than what is out there ….Heck you guys are masters and never let anyone tell you different and again thank you for the experience and for making my collection working on my system

Steve morrisNov 30, 2014

Thanks to all that are working hard to make this media player the best, you have more than suppased yourselves

SandmannNov 30, 2014

Still no mka-chapter navigation… Moreover great work, thx

ShollywoodNov 30, 2014

Are there any 4k streaming sites running to use 4k in Kodi

asafNov 30, 2014

It would mean the world to me if kodi had a built in screencadt feature. Not sure if there is away to mirror to Chromecast now.

AlbertNov 30, 2014

Great work.

An option to show or hide the on screen keyboard especially when using kodi on laptop or when you have a physical keyboard would be very nice.

AbdessamadNov 30, 2014

Great work.

ZangetsuNov 30, 2014

Is that all your update on the PVR-side?..

There is tons of weaknessses lacking for Kodi on the PVR-end.

* Still no support for recording in the IPTV Simple Plugin, and that’s even thou Kodi uses FFmpeg…
* Buffering issue for HLS is still not resolved, XBMC / Kodi keeps buffering even thou it hasn’t switched segment if you get how HLS work…
* Still no full support for HLS. It has a lot of functions which still hasn’t been added to Kodi. For an example all the tags which HLS support, such as several audio language choiches. Subtitle support.

Don’t rush it till the next update, make a lot of updates before making a big release…

fritschDec 01, 2014

Recording for iptvsimple is not the job of xbmc, but the job of the addon maintainer.

For the HLS support, it seems you really need it -> if you want to speed up the process, start providing patches. See you on github.

DevlinDec 01, 2014

First of all,thanks for the amazing job you guys have been doing all these years.You are fantastic!

I´d like to make a request: please make the possibility of recording audio from radio streams functional again.It used to be years ago,the button we would press is still part of the interface,but somehow it doesn´t work anymore.I´ve already tried the forum,without success.

I help other people improve their English using news, and that resource makes a huge difference.

Please help me.

Thank you very much.

zagDec 01, 2014

If its a real regression from a previous XBMC version then please log a bug on our bugtracker.

And to the keyboard not visible it’s cause u download the nighty vision witch is unstable sometimes u better of with arm version. Everything will work.

SebJan 09, 2015

I have the same issue with the keyboard. Any help?

Helena AljobouriDec 07, 2014

Ok u need to open kodi then system settings then video put the video settings on addvanced then acceleration option will appear press it. Under hardware accelerated option on the right are three buttons put them of. Restart kodi then u will have pic.

In some way the client install KODI PVR so that it is visible in the appendices? I’m trying in different ways and, unfortunately, does not go.

excitedDec 01, 2014

Thanks for all your hard work!

DjduckDec 01, 2014

Great work! I’ll wait for the stable release. Can’t wait!

RkuserDec 01, 2014

Hi,
Is there any improvement concerning RK3288 ?
Thank you for your work

FredDec 01, 2014

I’m fairly new to Kodi. But I love it! I’m just wondering what is the difference between a “release candidate” and a “stable version”? In other words, is it wise to use Kodi Helix or should I stick to XBMC Gotham for now? Thanks again for a great piece of software!!!!

mrwookieDec 01, 2014

Release Candiate is the stage between Beta and Release. Not potentially as many bugs as beta (if any) and potentially as stable as release.

chaseDec 01, 2014

how do I download kodi 14.0 rc1 to an image file so I can put it on my sd card to upgrade my privos xiox ds.

John HooperDec 02, 2014

Has anyone succeeded in sending YouTube from a portable device running IOS8 or Lollipop to Kodi?

kibDec 02, 2014

Yatse works from lollipop.

JimDec 02, 2014

There is other addition for RPi (openelec) users and another very welcome improvement for those with 2.0 speakers when playing 5.1 audio content.

There is now an option to “Boost Centre Channel when Downmixing” and it works really well. Audio and dialogue is now much clearer. I’m not sure if its in other OS releases.

@trollofthenorth head over to openelec.tv and download – Raspberry Pi ARM Version:4.95.5

PiotrDec 02, 2014

The Kodi 14.0 RC isn’t playing any video on my Android box (Orbsmart S82) – just a dark grey “background”. I’ll try and install a “nightly build” over it today evening. Changing settings (hardware acc. etc.) doesn’t change it. Strangely, I’ve had the same issue with Gotham (stable), but this was then solved by restarting the device. Anybody having the same issue / solution?

PiotrDec 02, 2014

OK i got a fix (dug up on youtube – moderator please removed if not allowed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieplaJ8LM2c – thanks to the author):
Essentially, the trick is to leave the main switch for hardware acceleration on, but uncheck AmCodec, MediaCodec and Libstagefright. A bit odd, but it works.

zebraitisDec 04, 2014

Thanks for this!

Two upgrades on an Android Pivos Xios resulted in a black screen on playback… I didn’t have the time to troubleshoot, so I really do thank you for finding the solution.

S7eeleDec 02, 2014

Thanks so much to everyone involved in development, great work!

Patrick_x86Dec 02, 2014

Thanks so much for this great released. My biggest Raspberry Pi issue was solved and it is working rellay great.

Adam MembreyDec 02, 2014

This may have been addressed or asked a million times, but why is there no support for Windows x64?

MartijnDec 02, 2014

because it’s too much work for now

kibDec 03, 2014

Too much work and no real gain from it. Many of the libraries used are not available for 64 bit and will have to be rewritten. In addition, a 64bit version would not perform better compared to the 32bit one

eemaDec 04, 2014

Actually that’s not true anymore at least with latest decoding software.
h265 and vp9 decoding is actually slower by at least 2 times on purpose. Devs decided not to waste time to write sss3 optimizations and similar to the 32 bit version so right now is AT LEAST twice slower the 32 bit compared to the 64 bit and it will stay for the future. It’s still a lot of work to port but now it’s not about anymore the same performance:http://blogs.gnome.org/rbultje/2014/02/22/the-worlds-fastest-vp9-decoder-ffvp9/

eemaDec 04, 2014

Here’s the quote:
“Some users may find that ffvp9 is a lot slower than advertised on 32bit; this is correct, most of our SIMD only works on 64bit machines. If you have 32bit software, port it to 64bit. Can’t port it? Ditch it. Nobody owns 32bit x86 hardware anymore these days.”

MartijnDec 04, 2014

Patches welcome if you think it’s easy done

eemaDec 04, 2014

Are you kidding me or what?
Did you actually miss ” It’s still a lot of work to port ” or what? I never said it’s easy and you must do it so please avoid “avoid “patches welcome” bs.
You simply should stop saying it doesn”t change anything and it’s not faster because it’s simply not true.

1358Dec 06, 2014

Martijn: Are you having issues reading!?

J876Dec 04, 2014

I do and I don’t like it how you make a generalisation without checking your facts.

J876Dec 04, 2014

eema, H.265 and VC9 aren’t widely adopted yet. Also it takes a while for the software codecs for 32-bit and 64-bit.

An efficient implementation of the codecs should work on 32-bit and 64-bit processors with acceptable performance if done correctly but this takes time and effort and and is not a simple port.

eemaDec 04, 2014

First of all if you read it well they actually and explicitly tell they don’t care optimize it for 32 bit. And btw it’s not only 32 bit the problem, you also need SSSE3 right now They might catch up in the future but there are other priorities.
Second thing it’s still a very important difference of performance. They might develop it further and get 32 bit closer but right now with my amd E450 and mpc-hc 64 I can actually play 720p vp9 videos. 32 bit is about 1/3 of the performance and to play the same video at 32 bit I probably need an i3. So it’s FALSE there’s no difference.
Of course it’s still a lot of work and probably not high in priority list but right now a 64 bit helix plays h265 and vc9 two to three times faster than a 32 bit helix

RobDec 30, 2014

Actually, Some people do still find use of older hardware. I believe Open source software should strive to install and run well on as wide a hardware selection as possible. Some people are building their first project HTPC from old components collected from their past PC builds, XBMC / KODI versions that support the older hardware can put those old components to some useful purpose instead of in the trash heap.

GeorgeJan 10, 2015

Thank you, says a guy who just discovered a $40 thrift store ATV1 and is running OpenELEC beautifully on it!!

RidderDec 02, 2014

Just downloaded and installed the RC.
Have been running betas, without real problems.
I only miss the XBMC File Cleaner app….

When I played mkv’s of shows it looked like it was lit with candles: flickering lights.
That was only visible when playing mkv’s in Kodi……not with anything else in Kodi or when playing other stuff in W8.1

Let’s see if that’s gone now.

DarnellDec 02, 2014

Nice work with kodi but still I wish eminence skin would be on kodi. Please get eminence skin working on kodi somehow. All yeah the celestium skin look amazing why isn’t that on kodi. Somehow and some way can you please put that skin on kodi.

HelpaguyDec 08, 2014

It actually works fine on RC2 – You need to install this first, then the latest skin

If you have a skin not copitable issue Go into program files x86 and then into Kodi and open the folder addons and then open folder skin.confluence and view the file version in the addon.xml file and copy that version to your downloaded zip skins xml and then go into kodi and delete your old not working skin and install your new zip skin with the changed version number……This can work on other things not working….Just look in the xml files in Kodi for right version ….this is a solution that worked on Rapier for me when it was not compitable for me….so just a tip and I hope my info was clear enough…Have a nice day.

I did not mean copy version I meant to replace the old version number with the new one you find in the xml in the kodi directory

MartijnDec 08, 2014

There’s a pretty good reason it’s broken. Don’t go alter the version

kakkerlakkDec 02, 2014

Moved from Gotham 13.2 to Helix 14.0 RC1 with zero issues. Even my skin mods stayed intact. Great job, team Kodi! Thanks for all your hard work.

JoDec 03, 2014

Thanks to all of the team that are working on this. I’ll wait for the Stable Version of Kodi for Win OS 8.1 and one more thing I can’t install Kodi 14.0 RC1 on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 that bought not long ago, It Tells me my Galaxy Tab 4 is not compatible for it, but XBMC Gothem 13.2 works fine!!.

If you guys can help to make Kodi work on Galaxy Tab 4 it would be great.

Watched some TV show-mkv’s last night and it looks like the flickering is gone!

The only thing I would like to have is a FileCleaner like XBMC FileCleaner.

AdamDec 03, 2014

RC2 has XBMC in the corner of the homescreen again. RC1 showed KODI

AdamDec 03, 2014

Ugh, forgot i changed skin. Disregard. Can’t wait for final release.

a1mattDec 03, 2014

” this project has lasted for 12 years and through four different names”

I only know three of them:
Xbmp
Xbmc
Kodi

What was the fourth? And when was it in use?

zebraitisDec 04, 2014

XBOX Media Center, of course!

Which was then shortened to XBMC to avoid the whole XBOX ™ thingie.

jjk9Dec 03, 2014

the last time I tried Kodi was beta 5 and i had major problems with the library scraping, that after a quick search showed that having the tv shows separated into multiple drives messed something up and it struggled to get half the shows and many episodes where missing yet only a single source or drive works perfect. Has this been fixed yet as I had to go back to gotham and rescrape everything,

I’ve tried installing Helix Beta, RC1 and RC2 on my Eclipse box and they get stuck at startup saying “waiting on external storage..”. Re-installed Gotham and it works fine. What am i missing here?

DarnellDec 04, 2014

Please put more skins on kodi like the eminence skin and the new one called celestium skin please

J876Dec 04, 2014

To all those people who think that people do not use 32-Bit processors. There are still a lot of them around and nothing wrong with them so don’t ditch 32-bit code just yet.

J876Dec 04, 2014

To Kodi team and PVR addon developers.

Is there any news on when PVR addons like TVHeadend, NextPVR etc for Linux will point to the .kodi configuration directories instead of .xbmc?

I know you can use symbolic links but this is a workaround, not a proper fix.

As far as Kodi is concerned as a whole, it is very fast and smooth. Great work to the Kodi team and addon developers.

MrSmithDec 05, 2014

Great news, thank you!
I hope the community will create much more Skins/Themes for this masterpiece! We need much more great Themes…

MikeDec 05, 2014

Are you working on a version for Windows Phone 8.1?

HawkboyDec 05, 2014

It says “The caveat to this update is that it is entirely software based.” Does this mean that my atv2 will lose its hardware decoding and wont be able to play the mp4′s that it can currently play?

RobiDec 06, 2014

I’ve installed Kodi Helix rc for Android, but it will not start, writes only: “waiting for external storage”. What does this mean? Kodi XBMC v13 and v14.0 Alpha 3 worked well. No Beta version does not work. What could happen? Can someone or Martijn help me?

BentoyDec 06, 2014

Please fix karaoke player. It won’t play

MoravecDec 06, 2014

It seems there is already RC2 available. Why don’ t you mention it here or update this page? I guess this was already with betas the case, new beta not mentioned here…

Please update more often.

Tks.

SimonDec 06, 2014

Agree … the only place the updates release candidates are mentioned (and where I keep track), is on Facebook.

I would also appreciated more frequent updates here on the main page. In the end, this is were all people look for news!

MoravecDec 06, 2014

Ok, I see – I don’t have a Facebook account…

So please update here too…

duke.gDec 06, 2014

I wanna thank all the developers for this release. I’m using xbmc for several years now and I’m still impressed. Just dowloaded the RC1 and installed it on top of my xbmc installation. All settings were picked up and applied in kodi. The xbmc installation has been totally removed. Gratulations for this. I really like this way. All things I use are working fine, no drawbacks, no problems so far. To my opinion video and audio playback are smoother/better than before. This is only my impression, no hard facts.
Thank you very much for your engaged work to build the best mediacenter ever. I must say, you did it!

Regards
duke.g

RetaishDec 07, 2014

Scan New Content doesn’t work in RC, even not on nightly builds. I am using OS X Yosemite.

John HooperDec 07, 2014

Running Kodi RC2 on Windows 7 64. iPhone/iPad on IOS8.1.1

I can get airplay to play audio but not video. The Youtube app doesn’t send at all.

Anyone doing any better?

willemDec 07, 2014

Same problem here, no Airplay with iOS 8. The iPhone can see my HTPC in the Airplay list, but video isn’t shown. iOS 7 with XBMC13 worked like a charm with the same two devices.

Bread pittDec 07, 2014

Hi

How about the integration of retoarch in kodi ? any progression ?

feelsbadmanDec 07, 2014

Anyone else notice the skins are all gone? I installed fresh and the only skin available is the default Confluence. When I click “Get More” the list is empty

Was re-touched updated to be able to use the PVR? If not then you might want to re-think this. I use transparency as a touch screen skin and it works pretty good although it doesnt take advantage of the screen as media lists are too small and truncate titles

FredxDec 20, 2014

I have been used for many years! Excellent!!!

OriondsDec 21, 2014

Great to read about the improvements made with Kodi.

This is my first foray into the Kodi-Xbmc world and I have been experimenting with both on PCs, notebooks and Android tablets.

So far, I have stuck mainly with Gotham 13.2 because I found that the fast forward and rewind using Kodi on computers running Xubuntu 14.10 tend to get stuck. The fast fowards exhibits lag while the rewind just hangs.

I hope this fast forward / rewind problem gets fixed. Have not tried Kodi on Android yet but will do so.

Re-touched on Android is nice (with Gotham 13.2) but so far, again, I could not resume where I last stopped. Perhaps, it might be more compatible with Kodi. Let’s see

Am really looking forward to H.265. Keep up the good work!

EvaDec 29, 2014

i just installed kodi 14.0 helix…been trying to setup the live tv……followed every step…but the live tv tab does not appear on my main screen and the pvr simple client keeps disabling itself. any advice?

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About Kodi

Kodi is a free and open source media player application developed by the XBMC Foundation, a non-profit technology consortium. Kodi is available for multiple operating-systems and hardware platforms, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the internet.